Cotton-chopper



J. T. SUSTAIRE.

Cotton-Chopper.

No. 225,890. Patented Mar. 23. 1880.

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WITNESSES: J1 E INVBNTOR:

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ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN T. SUITAIRE, OF hIATTHEWS, NORTH CAROLINA.

COTTON-CHOPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 225,890, dated March 23, 1880. Application liled December r, 1872].

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that 1, JOHN THOMAS SUSTAIRE, of Matthews, in the county of BIeeklenburg and State of North Carolina, have invented a new and Improved Uotton-Uhopper; and i do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention is an improvement in the class ofeotton-choppers having one or more hoes operated by a crank or similar means, and working across the rows of plants, or at right angles to the direction in which the machine advances.

I employ two sets or gangs of hoes, one operatingon oneside of the machine and the other on the other side, and to which a circular motion is imparted by separate crank-shafts rotated by gears fixed on the revolving axle of the rear transportiiig-wheels of the machine. Each set oflioes is followed by plows, which throw dirt up to or around the plants that have been thinned out, and both hues and plows may be lowered or raised by levers acting on sliding guide bars or plates with which they are connected.

In the aceoin ianying drawings,iorn1ingpart of this specification, Figure l is a vertical crosssection on line .rr, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan view. Fig. 3 is a side view of a portion of the machine. Fig. l. is a detail view, showing an at taclnnent of a hoe-blade.

The rectangular frame A of my chopper is supported by four transporting wheels, the front axle beingswiveled to adapt themaehine for turning or following a curve. Two 0 *anle shafts, J3 ll, are arranged longitudinally of the fran1e1\,and have pinions Uon their rear ends, which mesh with gears l), fixed on a sleeve of the rear axle, E. The said sleeve may be caused to revolve with the latter by engagement with a clutch, a, operated by a hand-lever, b. The wheels F are fast on said axle E, and hence act as drivers, abusing it to rotate, and thereby imparting like motion to the erank-sluii'ts B B simultaneously.

A set or gang of hoes, G, is arranged on each side oi the machine between the wheels, and operates in a plane at right angles to the line of motion of the machine. The handles or shanks c of the hues of each gang are attached to the crank of that shaft 1 which is contiguous, and work in transverse slots in a bar, H, which is arranged beneath and parallel to a side bar of frame A, and adapted to slide vertically on lixed rods 1.

The two guide-bars ll ll and their gangs of hoes G are lowered or raised by means of a cranked pivoted lever, J, whose endsarc connected with said bars by means oi" rods d. The lever J is tilted by a hand-bar, K, which may be held fixed in any required position or adjustment by locking with a bar, 0, fixed on the rear portion of frame A, contiguous to the drivefis seat, so as to be operated conveniently.

The. rotationot' the crank-shafts I) B imparts a circular motion to the bees proper of both gangs simultaneously, their handles a sliding in the slots of the guide-bars II, which serve as t'ulera. Thus the hoes are made to strike and thin out the rows of cotton-plants to a regular stand, one set of hoes acting on one row and the other on another, while the machine runs tride of a third or intermediate row.

To avoid undue shock or strain on the ma chine the shafts l; are so geared with the respective wheels that one set of hoes strikes a little in advance of the other.

The number of hoes in a set may vary; but I prefer the number should not be less than four nor ekeeed eight.

The hoeblades may be provided with an ad justable plate or wing, f, l i l, to enable them to chop wider or narrower spaces in the rows of plants. in order that said wings may be made thin and light and yet have the requisite rigidity, and also to give them a slight spring, so that when the screw is tightened tl'icy may be made to clamp the hoe-blades with suilicient friction to enable them to retain the proper position, 1 construct them with a lengthwise rib or corrugation, as shown.

l ollowing each set of hoes are plows or shovels L, which are attached to frames or bars M, that slide in guides or ways N, placed in. a nearly-vertical position and just in front of the rear trai|sporting-wheels. The two plows L of each set may be adjusted laterally on the wide bars or Frames M, the lower edge of the latter being, for this purpose, provided with a series of holes, 1', to receive the bolts that secure the plows thereto. The obiect of such adjustment is to enable the plows to throw more or less dirt up to and around the plants.

The bars or frames M, carrying the plows L, may be adjusted higher or lower by means of a pivoted crank-lever, 0, whose position is controlled by a hand bar, Q, arranged and locked similarly to lever J.

By the abovedeseribed construction and arrangementof parts I produce a machine with which two men and two horses can do the work of sixteen men and four horses using the ordinary chopping-out hoes and dirting-plows.

What I claim is 1. in a cotton-chopper, the combination, with the wheeled frame, the ClitlllLSlliLftS, and the sets or gangs of hoes attached thereto, of the slotted bars serving as guides and fulcra for said hoes, the rods 11, pendent from said frame, and the crank-lever rod and adjusting and locking bar, as shown and described.

2. In acotton-chopper, the combination, with the sets or gangs of hoes, of plows or shovels 20 his JOHN THOMAS x SUSTAIRE.

mark.

Witnesses:

J. S. REID, A. W. REID. 

